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DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Nuggets had missed uncontested layups and wide-open jump shots for most of the game.

	Posey

But with the game on the line, James Posey saved his best for last, hitting an 18-footer jumper at the buzzer that gave Denver a 72-70 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

"It was a short-clock play, and we executed and I made the shot,'' Posey said. "I thought it was going in when I shot it. I got a good look, and I think that was the best shot I had all night.''

Juwan Howard scored 18 and Posey had 16. Donnell Harvey added six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Nuggets, who rallied from 16 points down to tie the game at 68.

"Everybody was telling me that the shot was good, I felt OK about it, but you never know,'' Denver coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "This a real credit to our guys.''

Denver outscored the Clippers 23-8 in the final quarter to end a five-game losing streak.

"We stunk up the place,'' Clippers coach Alvin Gentry said. What else can you say?''

Andre Miller had 25 points for the Clippers, who shot 4-for-15 in the fourth.

"I've seen a lot of meltdowns here, but never anything like that,'' Los Angeles guard Eric Piatkowski said. "We had a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter, and when you get up by that much, you don't lose that.''

Michael Olowokandi tied the game on a hook shot with 11 seconds left. The ball went out of bounds with just over 1 second left, and Posey took the inbounds pass and made the game-winner.

Baskets by Marko Jaric and Miller three minutes into the fourth quarter gave Los Angeles its biggest lead, 66-50. Following a timeout, the Nuggets came alive on both ends of the court.

"When we got down by 14, I pleaded with them to just hang in there,'' Bzdelik said. "Never quit. Never, never quit.''

While the Clippers missed six straight shots, Nene Hilario and Harvey came off the bench to score six and four points, respectively, in a 16-0 run.

Kenny Satterfield's jumper and free throw with 4:19 to go cut it to 68-66 and finished the run.

Miller's driving layup with 3:38 to go ended the drought. Howard tied the game with a hook shot with 45 seconds left, and after Miller's pass went through Elton Brand's hands, Satterfield's airball landed in Harvey's hands underneath the basket and Harvey put it back in.

After trailing by five at the half, Denver couldn't get any closer in the third quarter. Harvey's follow of his own miss made it 51-46 with 4:30 left in the quarter.

It was Denver's last field goal of the quarter. Miller countered with two reverse layups and six points as the Clippers closed the quarter with a 12-3 run to take a 62-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

Denver was held scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the game, but trailed by only 22-19 as Howard scored eight points and the Clippers turned the ball over five times.

Without its starters, the Clippers didn't score in the second quarter until Jaric's layup off steal with 7:32 remaining in the quarter.

Game notes

The Clippers activated guard Quentin Richardson. Forward Tremaine Fowlkes was placed on the injured list with a sprained right knee. ... Olowokandi moved into third place on the team's all-time blocked shot list with 478. ... Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik got his first career technical foul with 22 seconds left in the third quarter. ... Denver has scored 15 or fewer points in 17 quarters. ... Corey Blount and Posey are the only Nuggets to start every game. ... Denver missed its first five shots, including an uncontested layup by Ryan Bowen.